Boaties appear to have heeded a message from Maritime Safety Queensland and have moved some of the vessels causing congestion on the southern side of the Noosa River.
MSQ has been enforcing anchoring restrictions between Lake Doonella and the Garth Prowd Bridge since July 15 following community consultation.
Under the restrictions, which are part of the Noosa River Management Plan, vessels over 5m are no longer allowed to anchor within 60m of the shore, or be grounded on the shoreline.
Vessels under 5m are allowed to anchor in the area, as long as they are anchored safely, are complying with pollution regulations and are seaworthy.
A MSQ statement said compliance had been high and more than 20 vessels had left the area since the restrictions came into effect.
Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Kell Dillon thanked boaties and said the feedback from the community had been positive.
“You need only to look at the southern shore now and compare it with how it looked only a few weeks ago to realise the effect the changes have had,” Mr Dillon said.
“The southern shoreline is now far less congested, and much safer, than it was before MSQ introduced the restrictions.”
The MSQ statement said officers had been contacting owners of vessels within the area and would continue to take a commonsense approach in enforcing the anchoring restrictions.
The statement said vessels whose owners were stopping to access the shoreline for a short time were not the intended target of the new restrictions, and the focus was on those intending to leave their vessels anchored or beached in the area for long periods.
Mr Dillon said MSQ was working through issues raised by boaties including a lack of transit zones and hitching options.
